[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 245 (Friday, December 20, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70265-70266]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-27464]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration

[Docket No. FRA-2019-0004-N-23]


Proposed Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment 
Request

AGENCY: Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), U.S. Department of 
Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Notice of information collection; request for comment.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) and its 
implementing regulations, FRA seeks approval of the Information 
Collection Request (ICR) abstracted below. Before submitting this ICR 
to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for approval, FRA is 
soliciting public comment on specific aspects of the activities 
identified below.

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before 
February 18, 2020.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments on the ICR activities by mail to: 
Ms. Kim Toone, Information Collection Clearance Officer, Office of 
Information Technology, Federal Railroad Administration, 1200 New 
Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590. Commenters requesting FRA to 
acknowledge receipt of their respective comments must include a self-
addressed stamped postcard stating, ``Comments on OMB Control Number 
2130-0593,'' and should also include the title of the ICR. 
Alternatively, comments may be faxed to Ms. Toone at [email protected]. 
Please refer to the assigned OMB control number in any correspondence 
submitted. FRA will summarize comments received in response to this 
notice in a subsequent notice and include them in its information 
collection submission to OMB for approval.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Kim Toone, Information Collection 
Clearance Officer, Office of Information Technology, Federal Railroad 
Administration, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590, 
(telephone: 202-493-6132).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The PRA, 44 U.S.C. 3501-3520, and its 
implementing regulations, 5 CFR part 1320, require Federal agencies to 
provide 60-days' notice to the public to allow comment on information 
collection activities before seeking OMB approval of the activities. 
See 44 U.S.C. 3506, 3507; 5 CFR 1320.8 through 1320.12. Specifically, 
FRA invites interested parties to comment on the following ICR 
regarding: (1) Whether the information collection activities are 
necessary for FRA to properly execute its functions, including whether 
the activities will have practical utility; (2) the accuracy of FRA's 
estimates of the burden of the information collection activities, 
including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used to 
determine the estimates; (3) ways for FRA to enhance the quality, 
utility, and clarity of the information being collected; and (4) ways 
for FRA to minimize the burden of information collection activities on 
the public, including the use of automated collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology. See 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A); 5 
CFR 1320.8(d)(1).
    FRA believes that soliciting public comment may reduce the 
administrative and paperwork burdens associated with the collection of 
information that Federal regulations mandate. In summary, FRA reasons 
that comments received will advance three objectives: (1) Reduce 
reporting burdens; (2) organize information collection requirements in 
a ``user-friendly'' format to improve the use of such information; and 
(3) accurately assess the resources expended to retrieve and produce 
information requested. See 44 U.S.C. 3501.
    The summary below describes the ICR that FRA will submit for OMB 
clearance as the PRA requires:
    Title: Generic Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback 
on Agency Service.
    OMB Control Number: 2130-0593.
    Abstract: This collection of information is necessary to enable FRA 
to garner customer and stakeholder feedback in an efficient, timely 
manner, consistent with its commitment to improving service delivery. 
The information collected from FRA's customers and stakeholders will 
help ensure users have an effective, efficient, and satisfying 
experience with FRA's programs. This feedback will provide insights 
into customer or stakeholder perceptions, experiences and expectations, 
provide an early indicator of issues with service, and focus attention 
on areas where communication, training or changes in operations might 
improve delivery of products or services. This collection will allow 
ongoing, collaborative, and

[[Page 70266]]

actionable communications between FRA and its customers and 
stakeholders. It also allows feedback to contribute directly to the 
improvement of program management.
    Improving FRA's programs requires ongoing assessment of service 
delivery, meaning a systematic review of the operation of a program 
compared to a set of explicit or implicit standards as a means of 
contributing to the continuous improvement of the program. FRA will 
collect, analyze, and interpret information gathered through this 
generic clearance to identify strengths and weaknesses of current 
services and make improvements in service delivery based on feedback. 
The solicitation of feedback will target areas such as: timeliness, 
appropriateness, accuracy of information, courtesy, efficiency of 
service delivery, and resolution of issues with service delivery. FRA 
will assess responses to plan and inform efforts to improve or maintain 
the quality of service offered to the public. If this information is 
not collected, vital feedback from customers and stakeholders on FRA's 
services will be unavailable.
    FRA will only submit a collection for approval under this generic 
clearance under the following conditions:
     The information gathered is only used internally for 
general service improvement and program management purposes and is not 
intended for public release;
     The information gathered is not used to substantially 
inform significant policy decisions;
     The information gathered will yield qualitative 
information; FRA will not design the collection or expect it to yield 
statistically reliable results or use it as though the results are 
generalizable to the population of study;
     Participation in the collection is voluntary;
     The collection is low-burden for respondents (based on 
considerations of total burden hours, total number of respondents, or 
burden-hours per respondent) and is low-cost for both the respondents 
and the Federal Government;
     The collection is non-controversial and does not raise 
issues of concern to other Federal agencies;
     The collection is directed to the solicitation of opinions 
from respondents who have experience with the OMB program or may have 
experience with the OMB program soon after receiving the collection; 
and
     With the exception of information needed to provide 
remuneration for participants of focus groups and cognitive laboratory 
studies, personally identifiable information (PII) is collected only to 
the extent necessary and is not retained by FRA.
    Type of Request: Extension without change of a current information 
collection.
    Affected Public: Individuals and Households, Businesses and 
Organizations, State, Local or Tribal Governments.
    Frequency of Submission: Once per request.
    Reporting Burden:

                                        Estimated Annual Reporting Burden
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                   Average time
       Type of collection           Respondent        Total annual responses       per responses   Total annual
                                     universe                                        (minutes)     burden hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Surveys, comment cards,                   350  Annual, periodically..........              10              59
 interviews, focus groups, and
 web-based technologies for
 Customer Service Satisfaction
 and Delivery for the Office of
 the Administrator.
2. Surveys, comment cards,                   350  Annual, periodically..........              10              59
 interviews, focus groups, and
 web-based technologies for
 Customer Service Satisfaction
 and Delivery for the Office of
 Railroad Safety, Safety
 Assurance and Compliance.
3. Surveys, comment cards,                   350  Annual, periodically..........              10              59
 interviews, focus groups, and
 web-based technologies for
 Customer Service Satisfaction
 and Delivery for the Office of
 Railroad Safety, Passenger Rail.
4. Surveys, comment cards,                   350  Annual, periodically..........              10              59
 interviews, focus groups, and
 web-based technologies for
 Customer Service Satisfaction
 and Delivery for the Office of
 Railroad Safety, Safety
 Analysis.
5. Surveys, comment cards,                   350  Annual, periodically..........              10              59
 interviews, focus groups, and
 web-based technologies for
 Customer Service Satisfaction
 and Delivery for the Office of
 Railroad Policy and
 Development, Research and
 Development and Passenger and
 Freight Programs.
6. Surveys, comment cards,                   350  Annual, periodically..........              10              59
 interviews, focus groups, and
 web-based technologies for
 Customer Service Satisfaction
 and Delivery for the Office of
 Financial Management and
 Administration.
rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
    Annual Total (estimated)....           2,100  ..............................  ..............             354
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Total Estimated Annual Responses: 2,100.
    Total Estimated Annual Burden Hours: 354.
    Under 44 U.S.C. 3507(a) and 5 CFR 1320.5(b) and 1320.8(b)(3)(vi), 
FRA informs all interested parties that it may not conduct or sponsor, 
and a respondent is not required to respond to, a collection of 
information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.

    Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3501-3520.

Brett A. Jortland,
Acting Chief Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2019-27464 Filed 12-19-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-06-P